Friendship is the word we often use for close relationships. How might it apply in our situation as the Church of England when seeking to discern ways forward in times of disagreement and change?

Friendship and the Body of Christ explores the legacy of Jesus’ last speech to his disciples in which he calls them ‘friends’ and commands them to love one another, and to ‘become completely one’. It asks, what does it mean to be church, and to be friends of Jesus?

This isn’t a comprehensive treatise on the doctrine of the church; rather it is a reflection on the gifts of friendship and the church. It is an invitation to explore the nature of our relationship with one another, and how this may shape the discernment and decision-making phase of the Living in Love and Faith process.

Friendship and the Body of Christ has been developed by the LLF Next Steps Group in partnership with the Faith and Order Commission of the Church of England.